Burned It Down With Straight Fire
by AshelleArdale
Summary: Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch have something that just can't be ignored, but it's never that simple when you're talking about the world of WWE. How do they navigate their feelings for each other, success and failures, and taking on the mantel of WWE's premiere power couple? Chapters should be able to stand on their own but will build on each other.


Seth had settled in for the night, his hair pulled back in a low bun, his skinny jeans exchanged for his favorite pair of old sweatpants. On his tablet, he flipped through the graphic novel he'd begun on the plane. Some superstars had no problem going out and partying leading up to a pay-per-view, but Seth was finding his body needed the rest more and more. Tomorrow he'd celebrate NXT TakeOver War Games and there would surely be a Survivor Series afterparty. Tonight, he appreciated the quiet of Becky Lynch's LA ranch. The Four Horsewomen were out with Cesaro and Sheamus, and Finn had gotten a last-minute hotel room when his new fiancée decided to come out. In one of her many guest rooms, Seth made himself at home. He had just gotten to a well-earned fight scene when he heard keys jangle and the front door open. It slammed shut and from his open door he caught a glimpse of orange hair storming past.

"Bex?"

She stopped and peered in, brows furrowed, "what're you doin' here?"

"You invited a bunch of us to stay with you for Survivor Series, remember champ?"

Becky scrunched her nose up at him. "Y'know what I meant. Aren't you out with the lads?"

"Aren't you out with the gals? I thought you were with Sasha and Bayley-"

"I wasn't," She said matter-of-factly. "I was at the trainer's."

Seth put down his tablet and sat up on the bed, nodding for her to sit next to him. "How'd it go?"

"I'm not…"she gulped, playing with a bracelet on her arm as she sat down on the bed. "I'm not cleared."

"To compete?"

"To do jack shit." Her voice cracked a little and she pushed through the tears building in her eyes. "This was my chance and I lost it."

"Bex, Bex, hey, c'mon." He pulled her into his shoulder, and she began to break down. "This isn't your only chance, there will be others, you'll make sure of it."

"It's so fuckin' unfair," she sobbed as he ran his hand over her hair. "I've worked so. Damn. Hard."

"I know, I know it," Seth leaned them back against the pillows of the guest bed, letting her head fall to his chest. He'd been in this spot so many times before. Maybe not sobbing into the t-shirt of one of his friends while they pet his head, but he had gone to Dean or Roman or Finn broken down and devastated more times than he could count.

"I don't know why I can't stop cryin'…I just. I need to sleep. I 'aven't slept."

He chuckled softly as tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. It was incredible how clear it could be when it wasn't your own injury.

"Because you're concussed," he reminded her. That just sparked another round of big, heavy tears. "Hey, it's okay, I've got you."

They stayed like that for a while, a long while, so long he lost track of time. For some strange reason, he found he didn't care. His grey t-shirt had a noticeable dark stain and her hair was falling loosely over his chest. The tears themselves, he had realized, had only stopped because Becky had fallen asleep. Maybe she just needed to let go. Seth didn't mind, he liked the feeling of her hair on his fingertips and the way her chest rose and fell so calmly.

Minutes passed, maybe an hour. His phone buzzed with a facetime request, and he popped back in his air pods as quickly as he could without moving Becky from his chest. She stirred a little but didn't move, far too comfortable. She let her eyes squint open, still not moving her head which was heavy and groggy.

"Hey Em," Seth's voice was low and gentle, "yeah, I'm good, flight was good. Oh? That's great. Listen, can I call you back later? Finn and I are trying to console Becky, she's off the show and in bad shape so we…yeah exactly. Knew you'd understand. Okay yeah, talk later. I um, yeah, love you too."

Becky raised her head, it was pounding. She turned and looked at Seth, her brows furrowed. Her throat was dry and her voice was shaky as she cleared it.

"Hey sleepyhead-" Seth began but she cut him off.

"That was Emily?"

He gulped. Emily was Seth's girlfriend from Davenport, Becky had met her last April at the Hall of Fame ceremony. She planned corporate events at organized weddings at the local Marriott. Emily was sweet, though she never seemed to have a whole lot to say. She most certainly didn't crave the spotlight, letting Seth take the lead in on that front. At the ceremony she looked gorgeous in simple, long black dress, but her face betrayed a sense that the whole thing had her little out of sorts. Becky couldn't help but suspect that he was always keeping her at arm's length. Last she had heard from Cesaro, who was a surprising gossip, she was dropping hints about looking for a ring and Seth was willfully ignoring them.

"Yeah, yeah but I told her I'd call her back. No big deal, I just-"

"I heard."

"Right, she was fine with it."

Becky narrowed her eyes, "you told her Finn was here."

Seth sighed, "Yeah, I did. I just didn't want her to think…"

"You lied to her. Just bald face, casual, no remorse?"

"It's not like that. Bex, it's just a white lie. If she knew it was just us she might think…she might get the wrong idea. I just wanted to avoid the fight."

She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it over where it had poofed up against Seth's chest, and shook her head. "You ought to be careful Rollins."

_We_. She thought. That's what she meant. _We ought to be careful_.

He nodded, she was right, and he knew it. The lie was an admission of guilt, because if they really were just friends, and there was nothing for Emily to be worried about, then he wouldn't have had to lie about it.

"Call her back, I need a shower."

With that she slid off the bed and walked off without another look behind her. She wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of the look in her eye. The veil of righteousness had surely faded, and the pure disappointment was pushing through. What exactly did she even want him to say? That he would rather be laying there with Becky asleep on his chest than talking to his girlfriend of a year and a half? What good would that do? As long as he was putting off breaking it off, there was nothing she could say and nothing she could do but pretend she was angry at him when really, the truth was, she was devastated.

When she shut the door behind her, Seth groaned. Was every woman in the world mad at him all at once? He pulled open the calendar on his phone. It was nearly halfway through August. Emily's voice rang through his head. _End of the year, Seth, or I've got to move on. You understand that, don't you?_

Of course he did. She was turning 35 in January and given she didn't have to worry about full-stop pausing her career for 2 years, she was feeling the clock more than his wrestling friends. How long could he expect her to wait around for him to be certain he wanted to marry her? He wasn't even sure what he was afraid of, what he was waiting to feel. In the back of his head a small voice nudged, reminding him of the warm feeling in his chest when Becky snuggled up against it. Something like that.


End file.
